Trucks are not exported to the market: truck sales in Russia decreased by 7-19%
Unlike the passenger car market, where there is a significant positive trend, sales of commercial vehicles are still in a stagnation phase. Despite certain optimistic developments in some segments, the overall picture in the truck market remains difficult, experts say. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Cars and buses are in the black
According to the results of the first half of the year, a total of 668.4 thousand of all types of vehicles were sold in Russia, Dmitry Yarygin, Deputy head of the analytics department at Autostat, said during the online conference "Autostat. RAM". This figure is 11% higher than the results for the first six months of last year, he noted. However, overall sales showed positive dynamics only due to passenger cars (+15%) and buses (+5%), the expert emphasized.
Dmitry Yarygin believes that the small increase in bus sales is due to the fact that this segment is more dependent on government procurement and tenders than on market conditions.
— Buses have a serious aging of the fleet. At the same time, a new model of public transport is being actively built in the regions, and new equipment is being purchased," explained the vice president of the Russian Automobile Dealers Association (ROAD) Vitaly Kiselyov.
In addition, the growth of sales in this segment of commercial vehicles was facilitated by the development of domestic tourism and increased interest in tourist bus models, he believes.
The crisis of "big wheels"
As for the truck market, all segments of this commercial vehicle showed negative dynamics in the first half of the year and are still in the red zone, Dmitry Yarygin noted. At the same time, depending on the type of trucks, the market situation is different, he stressed.
According to Autostat, the segment of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) showed the most serious drop in the first six months of this year. Sales of small delivery trucks and vans with a gross weight of up to 3.5 tons dropped by 19% compared to January – June last year. However, in quantitative terms, this segment of commercial vehicles has become the most widespread — 31.7 thousand such vehicles have been sold since the beginning of the year.
By the end of June, the decline in sales of LCV models slowed significantly: 5,408 cars were registered last month, which is 8% worse than June 2025. The leadership in this segment is held by the GAZ group models (these are Gazelles and Sables — 2,603 cars, or 48% of the market). In second place is the Lada brand with mini-trucks built on the basis of Grants (797 units, 15% of the market). UAZ holds the third position (698 cars sold, 13% of the market). The top five with the results of 486 cars (9% of the market) and 182 cars (3% of the market), respectively, also include the Russian brand Sollers and the Chinese Foton.
In the MCV segment (medium—tonnage trucks with a gross weight of 3.5 - 16 tons), sales decreased by 7% in the first half of the year. This is the only class of commercial vehicles where growth has been noted since the middle of spring, and in June it immediately amounted to 41%. However, a serious decline in late winter and early spring still did not allow this segment of trucks to achieve positive values for the first six months.
In quantitative terms, MCV's performance in the commercial vehicle market is low — only 5.54 thousand vehicles sold in six months. Of these, 1,020 copies were registered last month. The GAZ brand is also in the lead here (343 trucks in June). The domestic KAMAZ is in second place (243 cars), the Chinese JAC (163 cars) is on the third line. The top 5 last month also includes Ural (66 units) and Dongfeng (44 units).
As for the heaviest equipment (HCV segment, gross vehicle weight more than 16 tons), the situation here is not the most rosy, although it is somewhat better than that of the "kids". In the first half of the year, 18.2 thousand such heavy trucks were sold, which is 17% worse than last year's results. However, as noted by the deputy head of the analytics department of Autostat, in recent months this market segment has "reached a plateau."
KAMAZ firmly holds the leadership in this class of trucks — 1,137 units out of almost 2.9 thousand sold last month. The closest pursuer, China's Sitrak (second in 250 trucks), is more than four times behind it in terms of volume. "Bronze" — Dongfeng (239 copies) Closes the top five with the results of 234 and 223 Belarusian "MAZ" and Chinese FAW, respectively.
Trends and prospects
Among all types of commercial vehicles, the medium-tonnage truck (MCV) segment has the greatest potential for growth, says Vitaly Kiselyov, Vice President of ROAD. According to him, the average age of a significant proportion of the park is about 30 years, which physically needs to be updated. In addition, most of the owners of this equipment are small carriers and private owners, which may also contribute to the revival of sales in this segment, he believes.
— Some time ago, against the background of high deposit rates, it was much more interesting to keep money in banks, which did not have the best effect on sales. Now that deposit rates have decreased, small companies and individuals have become more active in investing in business development, including in updating their fleet," said Vitaly Kislev.
As for heavy machinery, according to him, carriers have recently shown some renewed interest in new tractor units. These are mainly large retailers and marketplaces interested in updating their own fleet of cars. At the same time, sales of construction and utility equipment have almost failed, the expert noted.
Despite the possible revival of sales in some segments of trucks, the overall situation in this market is unlikely to change radically, believes Vitaly Kiselyov.
Taras Koval, Vice President of the Association of Transport Experts and Specialists, is also observing interest in HCV tractors after a long lull. It is largely due to a slight increase in freight rates, he explains. However, at the same time as the rates themselves increase, the costs of carriers also increase, the expert notes.
— First of all, the rates are increasing in those directions from which it is difficult to take the return cargo. This means that you will have to go back empty, and these are direct costs. Plus, an increase in the cost of fuel, longer downtime, including due to the fuel situation," explained Taras Koval.
Against this background, he also considers a significant increase in sales of heavy trucks and the overall growth of the commercial equipment market unlikely.
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